From the Editor's Desk: Welcome to Barcelona

Yes folks, Windows Phone Central is here in Barcelona for the annual Mobile World Congress, considered to be the largest trade show on all things, well, mobile. With an expected attendance of nearly 60K visitors, this year will be the biggest ever (and at a new location).

Myself along with our app developer and podcast co-host Jay Bennett will be here throughout the week bringing the latest and greatest news that comes out of here. So what on deck?

Tomorrow, Monday the 25th at 8:30am (2:30am ET on Monday) Nokia will be taking the stage for their major press conference. The expectation is for them to announce numerous new phones, including the Lumia 520, Lumia 720 and one or more high-end/flagship phones e.g. EOS. That latter device is expected to sport a 41MP camera sensor akin to the PureView 808 (announced here exactly one year ago).

Of course, this being Nokia and information on the EOS being so thin, anything is possible.

Likewise on the tablet front. Rumors for a Nokia tablet have been waxing and waning over the last few weeks and we wouldn’t rule out a tablet announcement for tomorrow either (either RT or Pro). We also wouldn’t bet on it. In other words we’re prepared for any surprises that Nokia may have and they usually have a few.

For those wondering about Microsoft, no they are not here, so there will no major Windows Phone 8 announcement. The Windows Phone Team is here, in an unofficial capacity and we’ll be having some drinks and chats with them on Tuesday evening. Who knows, maybe we’ll learn a thing or two along the way? (Translation: get the Windows Phone Team drunk).

Huawei is set to take the stage in just a few hours. Will they only show Android phones? We’re not sure which is why we’re headed down to see what all the hubbub. We’ll report back ASAP if we see anything.

CoPilot will be on hand later to show us their new navigation app for Windows Phone 8, so expect some video of that in action later on in the day.

LG is here but the latest we’re hearing is there won’t be any Windows Phones displayed. Some sites (making very tenuous connections) speculated that the Korean company would make their expected return to the Windows Phone fold this week, but that does not appear to be the case. Still, we’ll be around in case something does show.

Other than that, we have numerous meetings with some companies and developers and since the show has not kicked off yet, anything can possibly happen in the next few days. Sure there are “knowns” but there are also many more “unknowns” at this point, meaning you’ll want to tune in to Windows Phone Central for frequent updates!

MyNokiaBlog who has very legit sources...dont expect to hear anything on the high end. They knew last year beforehand that the 808 was going to get announced. Nothing of what leaked within the last few days points to them announcing anything highend.... Including the Laser that went through the FCC the other day. ...simply BC why would you announce a variant of the same product you released 4 months ago?

But anyway, I hope im wrong too.
Maybe the leaks were held back....or maybe BC there just wasn't anything else to leak? It is also known that evleaks usually leaks EVERYTHING. With only the 520/720 renders being leaked...im not to optimistic there is anything else.

Daniel,
I recreated the pressure on my thumbnail required to have that level of blood pressure showing under the nail, and boy are you gripping that badge tightly!
I don't blame you, hang on to that thing and have a good time!

I hope whatever product Nokia announce at the MWC 2013, it'd be clear release date, carrier - retail availability, comprehensive accessories, and most important of all; immediate availability to keep the WP8 ecosystem vibrant with lots of choices for everyone.

;))
Seriously jealous right now ,,, but anyways, being BLOWN-Away by Nokia's Surprise has the same Impact whether i'm there or 4000 Miles away ;-)
..
just make sure You guys tell WP folks about the Xbox live / Games thing .... I mean Your whole Editorial was Great, and could turn things around if taken seriously with all it's info ...... so that Drinks & Chats thing on Tuesday evening would be Great ro throw the Bomb , don't you think ?! ...........

Congratulations guys for making to MWC. This should defintely be the best MWC for Windows Phone fans we've had to date. Some think Nokia will not announce Catwalk, EOS or a tablet this early but I'm with you guys on being more optimistic than that.

Daniel, Jay,
after you got the MS boys nice and drunk, make sure to ask them what new SoC they are working on for WP9. Alternatively, work it from the other side and ask Intel why they recently hired a WP engineer. ;-) Asking them about organizational changes at MS might also be interesting. Are they merging WP and windows teams? Why? Enjoy!

@Daniel, can you find out who at microsoft pissed in Thurrott's cheerios??? I used to go to his site for info and insight, but I just get angry and depressed when visit his site. And why does he bang on Nokia so much??? I don't get it.
Sorry for the rant, just have to unload somewhere.